About Us

We are a small, group practice working with others to improve their relationships and overall quality of life. We provide attachment and relationship-focused counseling to individuals, couples, families, and children.

Devan M Hite, PhD (ABD), LCPC

Over the years, my interests have developed, but they have always been primarily focused on the quality of human relationships and how they impact the way we feel and behave. Relationships matter and when they aren't going well, it can be hard to find pleasure in things. So, much of my work is focused on how to improve them, whether they are personal, work-related, or just in general.

The people with whom I work may also come to me because they want help working through difficult or frustrating patterns in their lives. Sometimes, this means that they want help setting and achieving better goals, and other times this can mean that they want to improve in their capacity to react better to difficult circumstances.

I have experience working with people who have had things happen to them in their lives that they would either like to forget or, at least, work through more effectively. I believe that our past can affect our present and future, and I believe it can be very helpful to use counseling or psychotherapy to move beyond it.

Whomever you are and whatever your circumstances may be, I am dedicated to you and to helping you achieve not just relief from the effects of difficult experiences but a greater capacity to thrive in the world in which you live, whether gay or straight, young or old, religious or not, a working professional or student. I have found that those who are able to gain a more authentic appreciation for themselves, the more likely they will be able to feel secure, strong, and mentally or emotionally healthy.

Tracy Burns, MA, LPC

I am a staff psychotherapist who sees adults, adolescents, children, and couples who struggle. I believe that the most important relationships we have are the ones we have with ourselves. Sometimes we have difficulty connecting to ourselves because of the messages we received as young children or the difficulties we had connecting to our parents and their difficulties connecting to us, or because something traumatic happened to us. I can help you choose to become more connected to yourself and to others by helping you give voice to your often long-held beliefs and solutions to problems that worked in the past, but no longer work now. Because I believe the most influential factor in affecting therapeutic change is the relationship between client and therapist, my approach is empathic and collaborative informed by psychodynamic, attachment, and relational frameworks.

I began my career as a business owner in the advertising field representing photographers, music producers, and artists. I stepped away from that career for 25 years to become a full-time mother and homemaker. During that time I helped raise two children to responsible adulthood after which I returned to school. I hold a Master’s Degree from the Institute for Clinical Social Work, a 2yr. Certificate in Adult Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy from the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, and a certificate in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) from the University of Chicago. My undergraduate work was done at Northwestern University in Economics and Accounting.

Brooke Petersen, PhD, LPC

Brooke Petersen is a psychotherapist specializing in addressing spiritual concerns in therapy while also working to help clients meet challenges and deepen relationships with self and others. Brooke's clinical training took place at the Center for Religion and Psychotherapy of Chicago (CRPC). Her therapeutic techniques are eclectic, meaning that she uses techniques and theories best suited to each client. Brooke's work is intersectional in nature, centered in anti-racist and feminist theory. She is mindful of the ways that trauma influences life experience and therapeutic practice. Brooke has experience with a wide range of clients in age, race, and sexual orientation. She also has significant experience in addressing spiritual concerns as well as religious difficulty and religious trauma. Brooke has specific training in Narrative, Client-Centered, Family Systems and Self Psychology methods and is a Licensed as a Professional Counselor (LPC) in Illinois.

Brooke began her career as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. After working in the parish for 6 years, Brooke returned to school to work on a PhD in Pastoral Psychology at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary (G-ETS). Her dissertation specifically focused on Queer persons who had experienced Religious Trauma in non-accepting religious communities. Brooke's academic research begins with the belief that religious communities must recognize and affirm the fluidity and diversity of gender identities and sexuality in order to meaningfully support human flourishing.

Maria Springer, MDiv, MA

Maria is a staff psychotherapist, working with adults, couples, children, and adolescents. She specializes in the treatment of PTSD, addiction, attachment disorders, and anxiety. She strives to help individuals of all ages and backgrounds overcome traumatic and difficult experiences, and to achieve peaceful and satisfying lives.

Maria is a third-year doctoral student in the PhD program at the Institute for Clinical Social Work (ICSW). In addition to an MA in Counseling and Psychotherapy, Maria has an MA in International Relations and is bi-lingual in French. She grew up in the Middle East and understands the importance of being able to reach out across cultures and languages.

Maria also has a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS), and has counseled individuals with profound faith commitments and spiritual seekers. She completed a two-year internship at the Jewish Children and Family Services (JCFS), where she worked with both Reform and Orthodox Jewish individuals and families.

Maria practices contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy with an emphasis on collaboration and connection.

Cecil Ellison

Cecil found us through his collaborative work on the God and Gays Therapy Project as a project manager and coordinator. Since then, he has been an enthusiastic and indispensable member of our modest team, managing those administrative matters that make our operation run smoothly and efficiently. Cecil also has an avid love for animals, dividing his time between his work for us and Call of the Wild, School for Dogs. Cecil received a bachelor of science from the University of Utah in biology, and moved to Chicago almost a decade ago with his partner Aaron and their dog, Connor.